Like Never Before Read Online Free Page B

“Glad she’s okay.”
    But . . . she wasn’t okay, was she? Krista was right. Charlie would celebrate her fourth birthday this August, and she had yet to start really talking beyond a word or two here and there—no full sentences.
    A pediatrician had momentarily quelled Logan’s concerns last summer. Explained that without an older sibling to mimic, it might simply take her longer. “Bring her back in six months if she still isn’t talking. But I bet she’ll be jabbering your ear off in no time.”
    The beating sun heated him now. Six months. It’d been eight. And he hadn’t even called to schedule an appointment.
    â€œOh, before I go . . . we should probably get back to Hadley ASAP.” Theo had his phone out as he moved toward the taxi that’d somehow wound its way through the crowded street. “You okay with me taking the lead?”
    Had it only been a couple of hours ago that he and Theo had gushed about the senator? Dreamt about futures that lookedlike something off The West Wing ? “Sure, go for it.” His voice came out dull, croaky, as if he’d been the one to enter the smoke-filled building.
    But he hadn’t. Someone else had been watching his daughter before the fire. Someone else had rescued her during it.
    He was just the guy who clung helplessly to her in the aftermath.
    Just like so many evenings, when he arrived home hours after dark, only minutes before Charlie drifted off to sleep for the night. He’d rock her long after she nodded off, trying to convince himself this was working, this single parent thing.
    But it was getting harder and harder to believe his own assurances.
    A male voice speaking through a megaphone blasted in. “Attention, please.”
    Theo paused, leaning over the open taxi door. “Don’t do it to yourself, Walker.”
    Logan glanced at his friend. Was he that see-through?
    â€œDon’t beat yourself up for not being there earlier or think you’re a horrible dad. Anybody would admire the way you’ve raised Charlie since Emma . . .”
    The fireman’s voice droned in the background, letting the crowd know there’d been only structural damage to a couple apartments. Most residents could reenter the building in a few minutes. A couple units on the sixth floor, though—Logan’s floor—had suffered heavy smoke damage.
    â€œI’ll tell you what Roberta S. Hadley says after I talk to her, okay?”
    Logan grasped for the interest he knew he should be able to muster. Roberta S. Hadley. Presidential campaign. She wants us.
    Minutes later, he watched the taxi cut a path through the maze of vehicles and fire engines blocking the street. He felt the softness of Charlie’s palm on his cheek and looked downat her. She’d awakened, emerald eyes grinning at him, whatever fear had driven her into his bedroom closet now gone. Did she even remember being carried from the building?
    â€œHow’s my Charlie?” He touched his forehead to hers, and she giggled. “Daddy’s home early. Sounds like we might need to camp out in a hotel for the night. Maybe one with a pool.”
    Her lips rounded into a surprised and happy O , and for an elastic moment that stretched with hope, he thought she might actually verbally reply. Come on, honey, let me hear your voice. But instead, she only clapped her hands, kissed his cheek.
    He’d take it. For now, he’d take it.
    Charlie wriggled then and tapped his back. She may not talk all that much, but she didn’t have any trouble communicating. He bent over to slide her around his body, piggyback style, and started for the apartment building.
    â€œLogan Walker?”
    He paused and turned, squinting against the evening sun, and saw the silhouette moving toward him. A mailman?
    â€œYes?” Charlie’s feet bumped against his sides.
    â€œGot a piece of certified mail for you.